“He wasn’t sucking the blood out,” I said. “He was using a syringe.”
This wasn’t going well. I’d wanted to take my mom to lunch to get her calmed down. I’d wanted to give her the facts so she wasn’t upset by exaggerated rumors.
“Let’s talk about something else,” I said. “I’d like to relax and enjoy my lunch.”
“No,” my mother said. “I want to hear about this. What happened to the man who was giving his blood to the fleas?”
“His name is Becker,” Lula said. “He’s a college student, and Pooka kidnapped him, too. And when Stephanie got there she rescued Becker and then Ranger rescued her.”
My mother was holding her fork so tight her knuckles were white, and her eyes were scary looking. “What happened to Pooka?” she asked.
“He got away,” Lula said. “Everybody’s looking for him, and I don’t know how anyone can miss his beat-up white van. I bet you anything he’s riding around distributing his plague fleas, right under the nose of the FBI. He’s like the invisible man.”
“Do you really think the fleas got the plague?” Grandma asked.
“Sure they got the plague,” Lula said. “And everyone they suck on is going to get the plague. Trenton’s going to be known as the plague capital.”
“No one knows if the fleas have actually been infected,” I said. “So far no one has shown any symptoms of the plague. We’re waiting for lab test results.”
Waiting was an understatement. My stomach was sick with dread that the tests would be positive.
“We need to go proactive,” Lula said. “We should be out there helping the police look for Pooka. I bet we could find him. You just gotta think like Pooka. And then I can use my extra perception to fine-tune it.”
“His plan was to shut the college down,” I said. “I can’t see him moving away from that plan. It was an obsession.”
“Yeah, but there’s cops all over that campus now,” Lula said. “They got people in uniform and people in street clothes. And I’m sure the kids and the faculty are all looking for him. No one wants to get bubonic fleas.”
“So he’s being sneaky,” I said. “He’s probably parking his van where it’s hidden, and then he goes to the campus in disguise and distributes his fleas. He gets in and out fast.”
“He might even be in a different car by now,” Grandma said.
“I’m sure the police have thought of all those things,” my mother said.
“Yeah, but they don’t have my special skills of sensoring,” Lula said. “I say we go on a manhunt!”
“I’m with you,” Grandma said. “Let’s go hunting.”
“I have ironing to do,” my mother said.
“The ironing is all done,” Grandma said. “There was no ironing to begin with.”
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to ride around the loop road,” I said, “but I don’t think we should get out of the car. We don’t know where he’s already dumped fleas.”
“Exactly,” Lula said. “When we spot him we call the police.”
We finished eating and trooped out to my Macan. My mother sat in the front, next to me. Lula and Grandma took the backseat. I drove across town and turned onto the Kiltman loop road. I drove slowly so we could scan the campus. Nothing turned up on the loop road, so I wound my way up and down the smaller roads that led to dorms and classroom buildings and fraternities. I honestly didn’t expect to find Pooka but it gave us all an activity, and I knew Grandma and Lula would have nagged me until I drove them around.
“Try some of the side roads,” Lula said. “The ones with regular houses. If it was me, that’s where I’d park on account of there’s trees to hide you from helicopters looking for you. And those houses have garages that might be empty.”
I drove off campus and into a neighborhood of faculty and student housing. I was cruising down a street that was completely shaded by old growth oak trees and I spotted a van on the next block. It wasn’t white but it was the right shape and had an appropriate amount of rust and dents. Someone had clearly taken spray-paint to it, so that it was a mix of brown, green, and tan.
I parked just short of the corner. “Someone call the police,” I said. “I think they should check this out.”
“It’s him,” Lula said. “I know it’s him. My Lula Sense is humming. I’m getting vibes all over. I’m going to take a look.”
“Not a good idea,” I said. “Wait for the police.”